Unscripted
by ElizabethWriter
Summary: Can Spike connect with a computer-coding hostage in time to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own these characters, except for Cassy. Hope you like it-R&R! **

*********Flashpoint *********

"You have to stop the malware from coding, if it finishes…" She trailed off into her tears.

"Is it just one script?" Spike asked urgently.

"No, it's multithreading," Cassy replied, now panicking. "The system's AIX, so it's going to move through every CPU they've got at the same time. They don't know which has the file in it."

"Cassy, do you know? Do you know which one?" Spike asked firmly.

"It's not from an IP within the building. It said that-" She suddenly fell silent. Spike paused, listening for more.

"Cassy? Cassy, are you there?" Spike tested. A man's agitated voice was heard in the background of the call.

"HEY! HEY GIVE ME THAT. YOU STUPID-"

"57 B!" Cassy screamed, hoping officer Scarlatti could still hear her.

The sound of a heavy blow, maybe a kick or punch, followed. They heard Cassy yelp, then another blow. Spike flinched and looked at Sarge with eyes of full of hurt, knowing that there was nothing he could do for her in that moment. The call disconnected.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright kids, whose ready for conditioning day!" Ed asked over enthusiastically. The team shared a collection of groans and eye rolling. "Full gear, everyone. Suit up!" Ed announced. Winnie gave them a look of "thank god it's you not me" as she answered a call at the desk. "Hi Simon," she said eagerly into the phone.

Team one began to shuffle their way to the locker rooms, engaging in some banter along the way.

"Who's excited to watch Sarge toss his cookies when we do repelling?" Spike poked. Lou, Wordy and Ed all quickly chimed in with their witty confirmations of agreement.

"You should really work on your fear of heights thing, boss. It's embarrassing." Spike added.

"Oh please, like you didn't get scorched by me on the climb and repel…" Jules countered coolly.

"You're like, four feet tall. That is an unfair advantage!" Spike retorted.

"Four feet of highly trained ass kicking, thank you very much." Jules corrected.

"Yep…" Sam added loudly, while conspicuously looking Jules up and down. She glared at him as the boys stifled their giggles.

Winnie was still on the phone but covered the receiver and said, "Hey Spike, I need you to take a look at something for me."

"Uh yeah, sure. Sure," Spike replied, hearing the concern in her voice. He jogged over to the desk while the rest of team one stopped to watch them. "What's up Win?"

"I have a friend who works at Freedom Engineering and they think someone is hacking the computer system," She said, pulling up something on the screen.

"How is that even possible? They're a weapon design company. Their server is like Fort Knox." He said in disbelief. He walked behind the desk and looked at Winnie's screen.

"Oh Jesus…" Spike said as he watched codes cascade over the screen. "They're getting in," He said under his breath.

Winnie spoke into the phone. "Simon, you're right, there's a breach. We're sending SRU your way right now." She looked over at Team One and motioned for them as she sounded the alarm.

"Alright, let's move team." Sarge commanded.

As they arrived on scene, Sarge divided the team and sent each on their own mission. Sam and Jules gathered intel from the CEO of Freedom Engineering, Wordy and Ed ask Simon questions and Sarge stayed in the van with Spike.

"Okay, I'm in" Spike nodded

"Spike, can you trace where the hack is coming from?" Sarge asked, peering at the screen.

"Yeah, I… Can. I can." Spike struggled.

"What are you thinking, Spike?" Sarge asked.

"It doesn't make any sense. This guy is clearly high tech. He's running malware that I've never even seen before…" Spike looked puzzled.

"Spike! What is it?" Greg prodded once again.

"The IP address. He has an un-spoofed, unprotected IP address. Anyone with this type of computer knowledge-"

Sarge interrupted, "wouldn't leave his location lying around." Spike looked up at him and nodded.

"Maybe he's under duress?" Spike offered.

"What is he even doing?" Sarge gestured to the screen.

"These codes are breaking down the firewalls, decrypting sealed files…" Spike again trailed off and leaned in close to the screen. "4, 4, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 7," He murmured.

"Spike, you gotta let me in your head buddy," Sarge said, tired of being one step behind.

"That code-" Spike pointed at the middle row on the screen. "It's different from all the rest. It's just that sequence over and over again."

"4, 4, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 7," Sarge echoed, now understanding, "Okay, what does it mean?"

"I- I don't know." Spike said blankly, trying to concentrate.

"A street address, birthdate, phone number," Greg pondered aloud.

"No," Spike mumbled, "Wait!" He said heartily, straightening up in his chair. "It's not a phone number, boss, it's a message," said Spike with conviction. "Quick, what can you spell with the numbers?" Spike whipped out his cell phone and examined the number keys and their associated letters.

Two clicks on the four "H,"

Two clicks on the three "E,"

Three clicks on the five "L... P!" Spike shared a look of urgency with Greg.


	3. Chapter 3

"Team One, new deal," Sarge stated into the radio as he stepped out of the van. "The hacker is under duress and sent us a distress signal with his IP address. We gotta get to his location and see if we can figure this one out before anyone gets hurt," Sarge reported.

A familiar chorus of teammates came over his headset. "Okay boss, on our way."

"Our people are looking for files of a special bomb chemical formula," Sam announced, leaving the CEO's office with Jules. "God only knows what they are planning to do with it."

"Thanks Sam," Sarge said, eager to put these hackers away.

The squad pulled up to the address the IP address had been tracked to. It was a medium sized home in a quiet suburb: not the usual lair of a professional hacker. Greg declared that they would be making a stealth entrance and the team moved into the positions. They went through the entire house, room by room. They stopped to collect information—looking at the family photos on the wall, mail on the kitchen table.

"Boss, the house is clear. We found their hacking station though. Looks like a family of three lives here: mother, father and one teenage daughter. We found paychecks made out for a Charlie Downing from The Lockwood Software System Company." Ed announced, glancing back at the three computer screens centered around a single keyboard and mouse.

"Downing is definitely capable of hacking with that level software knowledge Boss," Spike confirmed, looking up at Greg with a nod.

"Okay, sounds like we might have three hostages. Any clues of where they're headed?" Sarge asked.

"None we've seen," Ed replied.

"Sarge?" Winnie's voice cut through the radio.

"Yep," He replied

"I have a 911 call from a Cassy Downing,"

"That's one of our victims. Patch her through! Spike, track it."

"Hi Cassy, this is Sargeant Greg Parker with the Strategic Response Unit. Can you tell me what's going on?"

"You need to stop the script," She panicked."It's in the… th-third CPU. It's going to break down one-" She panted and stammered on. "One security system, then start on… on… on the next then they have a code and then they have to-" She was hyperventilating and coughed on her words, unable to continue.

"Boss," Spike said, "Let me take this," he said confidently. Greg looked at him and Spike confidently held his gaze. Greg nodded and Spike gave Lew his spot at the computer.

"Hi Cassy, this officer Mike Scarlatti with the SRU. We're going to talk about that script in just a second. I need you to answer a couple questions for me first, okay?"

"I… I… I'm…" She tried to start. Spike knew she needed to calm down before she could help them.

"Cassy, I just need you to take a breath, okay?" he directed soothingly. The line crackled as she exhaled onto the phone. "Good, that's great Cassy. Can you tell me where you are?"

"I don't know. It's a… A warehouse, I guess. They put me in a closet and taped me up," She said with shame in her voice. "They're outside."

"How many are there?" Spike inquired.

"Two men." Cassy whimpered.

Aside from the conversation, Lew spoke triumphantly, "Got it." The phone had been tracked and the girl's location popped up on his screen. The team hopped into their respective SUV's and Lew forwarded the location to their PDAs.

Cassy tried to move from the floor but was caught by the screeching sensation that shot through her leg. She tried to cover her mouth as cried out in pain involuntarily.

"Are you hurt Cassy?" Spike's asked, his voice losing a bit of professionalism, as it shadowed with concern.

Cassy responded with her eyes pinched shut and lips sealed, "Mmhm." She only opened them once she was sure a scream would not escape.

"Okay, you hang in there. We're on our way right now to help you. Are your dad and mom there too?" He asked.

"No, no. They're in Vancouver for the weekend." She whispered, feeling even more alone. "The men—they made me do it. You need to stop the script." She said starting to cry. The team exchanged glances: Cassy's father didn't perform the hack—Cassy did.

Spike looked impressed by this. He had found fellow teenage nerd. "We're working on reversing the script right now. Ya know, that was some pretty high-tech talk you have going. You are being so brave, Cassy. So brave," he said trying to keep her calm and occupied. On the other side of the line, a small smile tethered onto her sniffle.

The numbers trailing across Lew's screen stop and a new window came up. Spike looked at the data entry box that appeared.

"Do you know the termination code?" Spike asked calmly, but praying to God that she did.

"03-09-97," She choked out.

"On it." Lew said as he began to type furiously.

"You have to stop the malware from coding, if it finishes…" She trailed off into her tears.

"Is it just one script?" Spike asked urgently.

"No, it's multithreading," Cassy replied, now panicking. "The system's AIX, so it's going to move through every CPU they've got at the same time. They don't know which has the file in it."

"Cassy, do you know? Do you know which one?" Spike asked firmly.

"It's not from an IP within the building. It said that-" She suddenly fell silent. Spike paused, listening for more.

"Cassy? Cassy, are you there?" Spike tested. A man's agitated voice was heard in the background of the call.

"HEY! HEY GIVE ME THAT. YOU STUPID-"

"57 B!" Cassy screamed, hoping officer Scarlatti could still hear her.

The sound of a heavy blow, maybe a kick or punch, followed. They heard Cassy yelp, then another blow. Spike flinched and looked at Sarge with eyes of full of hurt, knowing that there was nothing he could do for her in that moment. The call disconnected.

Lew tracked down CPU 57 B and shut it down and the screen cleared.

"The code has been terminated," Lew stated.

"We need to find that girl. Now," Sarge said, raising his voice.


	4. Chapter 4

There was no car at the warehouse when the team arrived.

"You think they ran, boss?" Sam asked.

"If they found out that the script was terminated, the girl's expendable," Wordy murmured.

"Or they might not know, and fled because of the 911 call," Spike countered quickly, not wanting to think about Wordy's suggestion.

"We don't know," Sarge reminded everyone before they jumped to conclusions. "Just stay on track with the plan, and we will see. Let's go," He said, assigning everyone to positions.

The team swept through the building in formation, but it didn't appear that anyone was there. They opened door after door clearing each nook and cranny of the warehouse. Hope was running low that they would the subjects or Cassy.

Spike reached for the handle of what had to be door twenty or thirty. With a quick twist, it swung open. He saw Cassy on her side, crumpled on the floor in front of him.

"Ed!" He called over his shoulder, "Get EMS in here!"

Ed spoke into the headpiece, "Boss, we got Cassy but she needs a medic now."

Spike knelt down next to Cassy and she panicked and tried to pull away from him. Spike noticed that her eyes and mouth had both been taped over and knew that she must be incredibly confused.

"Cassy, it's the police," He soothed as he placed a firm hand on her back to still her, trying to peel off the tape from her eyes as gently as possible. "Hey, you're alright," Scarlatti said as her eyes met his. She stopped struggling but still seemed confused as he pulled the tape off of her mouth. She gasped for air as she rolled onto her back.

"Cassy, it's officer Scarlatti, you're safe," He repeated. The fear in Cassy's eyes faded to relief as he cut the tie from her wrists. As soon as her hands were free, she reached out for him and gripped his arm, needing something to hold on to. He replied with a firm grasp and placed his free hand over hers to reassure her that he had her. He didn't have to check her pulse because he could feel it pounding: fast and irregular. Ed's voice came over the radio.

"Building is clear. Spike, EMS is minutes away," he announced.

"Copy that," Spike replied. He scanned down her body to look for injuries. "Can you tell me where you're hurt?" he asked calmly.

"My leg… and s-stomach," She stuttered, tightening her grip on his arm.

"The paramedics will be here in just a second. I'm going to take a look, okay?" He asked, gesturing at the hem of her shirt. She nodded. He wondered why her stomach was hurting so badly, but upon revealing her stomach, it was clear: boot marks. Those bastards kicked her hard enough to leave angry bruises complete with every detail of the shoe's tread. He remembered hearing those blows over the phone and internally seethed a bit. She cringed as he placed the fabric back over her abdomen.

"It's okay, Cas," He said.

"Cas?" She replied looking up at him. "Only my parents call me that," she told him with a weak smile. The thought of her parents made her relax a bit more.

"That's a lot better than my nickname," He replied, trying to keep her engaged.

"What?" She asked.

"Spike."

If she wasn't in so much pain, she might have laughed.

"Spike. Are you a cop or a 12 year old?" She joked drowsily.

"The world may never know," He smirked as he looked down at her legs. "Right or left?" he asked.

"Left," she replied, feeling tired.

"Can you wiggle your toes?"

The tips of her shoes moved as she winced.

"Good, you're doing really well," he reassured her with a smile. Spike could see she was fading.

"Spike…" Suddenly, she struggled on the floor and clutched his arm tighter.

"Cassy?" He called.

"I'm gonna-" She stopped to heave and Spike immediately caught on.

"Okay-" he quickly rolled her onto her side. Spike held her there as he activated his headset.

"Sarge, where is EMS?!" he asked urgently.

"One minute. They're entering the building with Sam right now, Spike."

As soon as she had stopped throwing up, tears actively poured down her face. Vomiting heightened the pain in her stomach and rolling over had jarred her leg. Spike returned her onto her back as slowly and gently as possible.

"I know, I know Cassy," he said kindly as she rested onto the ground.

"I'm sorry," She whispered.

Spike chuckled with pity. "You don't need to apologize for getting sick, Cas," he said sweetly.

He heard Sam's strong voice calling. "Spike?!"

"Over here, Sam!" he yelled back over his shoulder. When he looked back down, he saw Cassy's eyes gently shutting.

"Cassy? Cassy!" He tried to rouse her. She opened her eyes for a brief moment, but they fell shut once again. Sam and the paramedics had just arrived behind him. He moved back from Cassy and began to update the medics.

"Blunt force trauma to the abdomen, leg fracture, vomited once," He reported stiffly. He then softened. "She was talking but… She just blacked out on me," He added, his professional composure leaving him as he put his hands on his head. She was so intelligent and courageous. He didn't want lose this one—lose her.

Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did good, Spike. Let them work."


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Cassy goes to the hospital and recovers. Spike visits her often and they talk about adorable, nerdy things together. Spike has both saved a life and made a friend for life. Fin.**


End file.
